A Little Swaparoo Treasure

My latest beady-jewelry challenge was a jewelry swap hosted by Ms. Lori Anderson.  Instead of the usual "bead soup" of loose beads and findings, this time we swapped pieces of finished jewelry.  This allowed for a little digging through old or not-so-successful designs.  I have plenty of oddball pieces in a container called "Tear Apart and Start Over" so it wasn't hard for me to find one to share.  My partner in this little venture is Ms. Erin Prais-Hintz of Treasure's Found.  Her blog is always full of inspiration and gorgeous designs, so I was thrilled to see what she might share.  Since I wasn't focused on what I was doing, I forgot to take a picture of the piece she sent, but the basics are:  asymmetric multi-strand necklace with sterling silver tubes, purple pearls, and a big Thai silver floral focal.

After I tore it all apart and made little piles of all the different pieces and beads, I got down to business on a new necklace.  I chose a big lampwork glass focal by Kay Bolden, a local artisan from here around Hampton.  The pretty purple in the glass worked perfectly with the purple pearls from Erin. I added some lemon quartz, shimmery blue moonstone, and a few green Swarovski pearls along with the sterling silver tubes to create an asymmetric multi-strand piece finished off with a little brown leather.

I call it "Lavender & Lemon" and wore it out on Friday night...it feels good.  Not too heavy. 

Since I still had more beads in my little piles, I went on ahead with some memory wire and strung up a matching bracelet.  The Thai silver beads from Erin's piece worked perfectly.

And last but not least, I wanted to do something cool with that big focal and a brass cuff blank served as the perfect base.  I finished off the purple pearl pile along with some silver wire to string the flower and create a mixed metal bracelet.

The rest of the artists in this swap have blogs worth checking out...here's a list!

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com
Johanna Rhodes http://firephoenixcreations.blogspot.com
Laurel Steven http://laurelsteven.blogspot.com
Loretta Carstensen http://www.designsbyloretta.blogspot.com
Lori Anderson http://www.PrettyThingsBlog.com
Mallory Hoffman http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com
Marianna Boylan http://www.stargirlshop.blogspot.com
Norma Turvey http://moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com/
Sharon Misuraco http://goinoffthebeadinpath.blogspot.com
Stacey Curry http://starhitchedwagon.blogspot.com
Tyne Bodenburg http://www.tynebodennecklaces.blogspot.com